Arab Forum on Asset Recovery – Marrakesh

The second Arab Forum on Asset Recovery (AFAR II) took place between 26th – 29th October 2013 in Marrakech, Morocco. It was co-hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco and the United Kingdom, in association with the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank (STAR) and the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime. The Forum brought together almost two hundred participants from the G8, regional partners and key financial centres to forge greater collaboration towards the recovery of stolen assets in transition countries and to reinforce the political commitment of all the partners in the MENA region to establish efficient policies on asset recovery.

Prior to the meeting of the Forum in Morocco three ‘Special Sessions’ took place in 2013 focusing on concrete technical challenges involved in asset recovery. These ‘Special Sessions’ concentrated on the importance of domestic coordination, international cooperation and the role of non-governmental organizations in asset recovery.

AFAR II sought to identify the remaining challenges in the recovery of stolen assets, following the achievements both in the first Arab Forum and from the Special Sessions, and to provide a basis for future domestic and international progress on the issue.